


Studies

by twothousandverses



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M, Universitystuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 22:52:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3668187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twothousandverses/pseuds/twothousandverses
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“No, Terezi,” Karkat began, “did you not hear what I just said no more than three minutes ago? Gamzee is a giant asshole, but who you want to date is none of my goddamn business. So there. Did I not make my answer clear enough? Would you like me to repeat? I’m not jealous of a fucking clown.”</p>
<p>In which college stresses out everyone, and Karkat is definitely jealous of a clown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Studies

“Hey, Terezi, it’s me,” a voice called. Karkat rapped at the door with one hand, the other still holding a neatly bound gift for the person he happened to be visiting. “Are you there?”

There was no reply for a moment, until a familiar voice that was unquestionably _not_ Terezi’s shouted back, “Go the fuck away, Shitstain. You’re not loved here.”

Karkat decided it was safe to enter the university dorm. “Hello, Terezi,” he greeted, even before the door had finished opening completely.

The girl in question was eagle-spread on the piece of furniture closest to the lifeless television set, her head hanging limp a foot from the ground, and her eyes scanning the text patterns of a University textbook listlessly. On the other bed sat Dave, his back against the wall; he was scrolling through something on his phone. Several papers lay scattered around him, the documents inked more with red pen than the originally typed script. The trash tin beside the desk was nearly seeping empty cans of energy drinks, while the sole window at the back of the room was heavily shielded by a pair of blinds. The place honestly was an honest to fuck mess, with unwashed clothes and random dice (for the fault of Terezi’s roommate, of course) littering the carpet, added with unmade beds and unorganized school supplies strewn on every vaguely horizontal surface.

Dave acknowledged him without stirring, “Karkat.”

“Asshole,” he hailed in return.

Terezi slurred something inaudible. Karkat stopped in the doorway, and asked, “What happened to you?”

“Finals,” spoke Dave for her again, and she groaned.

Karkat’s empathized immediately, his thoughts returning to the pile of textbooks waiting to be read in his own dorm room. Not only was the pressure of studying itself enough, but Terezi was becoming a lawyer, something a lot tougher than he had originally imagined; the pressure was not lessened by the fact that her education also hung dependent on her grades doing well. Dave was studying something in history, since he had plans to dig up skeletons for the rest of his life.

“Where’s your roommate?” asked Karkat, still standing half inside of the hallway.

Terezi’s head shifted upwards, her pink-streaked hair falling over her nose and eyes and brow. “You’re looking for Vriska?” she asked blankly, more of a deadpan than anything.

The way she replied caught him off guard. “No. I was just—” Karkat frowned. “Never mind.”

“She’s probably out with Egbert,” Dave felt the need to interject, “gazing deeply into each other’s eyes and ignoring adult responsibilities approaching in the distance.”

“Yes, definitely not a picture I needed envisioned,” Karkat snarled. “What, you jerks aren’t doing the exact same thing?”

Dave finally set his phone down and lowered his sunglasses a fraction. “Yo, Terezi, want to get lost in each other’s eyes for a few hours? Fail college, never get jobs, and die at the mere age of thirty in a back alley, only to be eaten by rats and found two weeks later by people who could literally not give a shit about your half-eaten corpse? Basically, just envision the most realistic love story ever.”

“Oh, Dave,” she swooned, “I would love to! Look, I’m giving up on my future right now!” She gave an exhausted grin to Karkat. “But nah. I’m studying, he”—Terezi jabbed a thumb at Dave—“ _was_ studying; life is horrible, and I’ve been awake for the past thirty-one hours straight.”

“I’m sure that’s been delightful,” Karkat retorted endearingly, “but before you pass out from sleep deprivation, I need to speak to you.”

Terezi closed her eyes and groaned loudly. “Say it,” she grumbled.

Karkat glanced at Dave, who had now returned to his phone. “But I think… I’ll just come by another time,” he decided.

She replied, “Do whatever you goddamn please, but I may not be around later. So if you’re going to say something, say it now.”

“Fine.” He glanced at the door. “Come outside.”

She complained melodramatically but got to her feet. Dave peered up quizzically as the pair left the room, but said nothing. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the wall, her crossed arms hanging heavy. She had taken off her trademark red glasses, blinking her teal-coloured eyes blearily. Karkat noticed her shirt was on backwards, either by a cause of laziness or because she simply hadn’t noticed yet.

“So,” she started.

“So, your capability to give any shits is probably plummeting as I speak, and I know you’re busy, so… I guess I’ll keep this brief. I got you a gift.” He stuck out his hand, holding the small gray package. “A congratulations-for-that-scholarship present.”

She took it, turning it around in her hands. “Ooh! Thank you! Can I shake it?”

“Not unless you want it to break,” he replied, and she stopped.

“Well, yeah. This is cool, thanks again,” she said. There was an awkward silence.

“Dave came up to study with you today,” Karkat stated an obvious fact.

“He’s been coming up to study a lot actually,” she told, choking back a yawn at the end of the sentence. “But he always gets distracted. Vriska stays to do homework as well, whenever she’s not with John or whoever else she hangs out with. Uhm… Gamzee as well.”

“Gamzee?” Karkat had never seen his dorm-mate study once in the entire time they’d been at college. He rarely saw him anymore, actually, and suspected he’d gotten himself into drugs or drinking or some sketchy shit. “Gamzee comes to study with you?”

“More like visit,” Terezi deadpanned.

Karkat sighed and brought up his thoughts. “Don’t you think he’s being really weird?” he began. “I mean, he was always weird growing up, going on about miracles and clowns and other lunatic vomit, but now he’s some fucking juggalo, and it’s creeping everyone out.”

“Karkat,” interjected Terezi, but he went on.

“The other day I was with Megido and Nitram, and Tavros got a call from him. He didn’t answer. That is messed up, because those two were the closest things I’d call brothers from our pitiful gathering of individuals I’d consider a ‘friend group’—”

“Karkat.”

“Yeah, you’re right, this is really depressing, talking about Gamzee.”

“He’s my boyfriend.”

There was a beat of silence.

“What the fuck are you talking about.”

“Dating. Going out. In a romantic relationship. Yeah, he’s my boyfriend.”

Karkat blinked numerous times. “But—”

“Listen,” she began, in a completely fed up tone, “I’ve been super stressed, and although Dave comes up a lot we never really talk, and Vriska just goes on and on about John and her problems and it’s _really_ boring. But Gamzee…” She shrugged. “He cares about me, you know? He’d come to visit, and he’d listen to what I’d say, and would give a fuck, and basically we made it official three days ago. We’re dating.”

“Well—wow. That’s a big plot twist.” Karkat remembered all the things he’d said not a minute earlier and started to feel extremely awful, especially under the cold glare of Terezi. “Then consider me happy for you two jerks.”

Her dead stare lasted only a second longer before it turned flirty. “What, you’re not _jealous,_ Karkat?” she asked slyly.

“I—what?” His cheeks tinged red, so he made up for it by screaming. The girl was colourblind, so she probably hadn't even noticed—unless she'd _smelled_ his embarrassment like she claimed she could. “What gave you that insane idea?! Has Gamzee corrupted you already, making you think the thoughts filled with the most shit I have _ever_ heard in my _entire_ fucking _life?!_ ”

“Well, you always had _enormous_ crush on me when we were kids, so I just assumed—”

“No, Terezi,” he began, “did you not hear what I just said no more than three minutes ago? Gamzee is a giant asshole, but who you want to date is none of my goddamn business. So there. Did I not make my answer clear enough? Would you like me to _repeat?_ I’m not jealous of a clown.”

She kept grinning. “Whatever you say.” She winked and gestured to the door. “I should probably get back to studying.”

Karkat nodded. “Yeah, that’d probably be wise,” he said, intending it to sound just as filled with incredulousness as his most recent rage-filled outburst, but it ended up coming out with care; he stuffed his hands into his pockets. She thanked him again for the gift and headed back into her dorm, and just before the door closed on her heels Karkat could hear Dave ask, “What’d Vantas want—?”

Three seconds after the door closed Karkat felt an unsurprising rush of heat to his face. He ran a hand over his eyes, before staring at the closed door.

Oh boy.


End file.
